Im just new on here , and was looking for some advice as to why , after adjusting the handbrake on my daughters 2001 punto, it will still not hold the car . Last mot by previous owner gave an advisory , as it just scraped through the test on handbrake . Have been told this is common on puntos , any ideas ?

Hi
how did you adjust it?


by the shoes or the cable,


Shoes couid be on there last leg's. idealy you wouid be best to remove hubs
and inspect. see how much friction material is left.

I took the drums off to check if self adjusters were working , cleaned everything , ground the lip off the drum ,set the shoes up & put back together . Shoes have plenty lining left , drums ok & everything else seems to be ok ,but can still turn the drum ! . Could the linings have gone hard & lost their friction performance ?

did you slacken off the cable at the handbrake first
then adjust shoes so that theres slight contact from shoes on hub
when turning them?


then adjust cable.

Cable slackened
Shoes apart
Clean frictionnspots on shoes to backplate
Deglaze the shoes and drums
Reset shoe adjusters to zero
Rebuild rear brakes
Get in the car and press the vrake pedal till it stips clicking and press a few extra times

Then adjust the cable to give 3 - 5 clicks

Ziggy

leave it a fiat isn't meant to have a handbrake

benny279 said:

leave it a fiat isn't meant to have a handbrake

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it does when you leave it on a hill tho benny

Otherwise your name will become quite famous as you end up playing this music while you follow your car down the hill



I have a handbrake, enough to hold the car on a hill, but i still leave it gear
I can very very easily pull off with mine still engaged, and it groans too but it should pass the lovely MOT

Ziggy

Cheers for the advice , i'll try that at the weekend when i get back, if it was my car i wouldnt be too bothered but its me daughters & shes just passed her test and i dont want to have to pull it out if someones sitting room !!!

Ziggy122 said:

it does when you leave it on a hill tho benny

Otherwise your name will become quite famous as you end up playing this music while you follow your car down the hill

Benny Hill Theme Tune - YouTube

I have a handbrake, enough to hold the car on a hill, but i still leave it gear
I can very very easily pull off with mine still engaged, and it groans too but it should pass the lovely MOT

Ziggy

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Now now Ziggy no need to start name calling

I mean mine is same as yours but in all honesty they ain't the best handbrake systems built , my old car flawless on handbrake

Benny

Theres nothing wrong with the handbrake on punto's
if you spend an hour or so setting them up properly
theyre as good as one on anyother car, except Peugeots they have the worst
handbrake in the world,.


mine holds on steep hills on 2 clicks, and its on its original hubs,

oldhammer said:

Theres nothing wrong with the handbrake on punto's
if you spend an hour or so setting them up properly
theyre as good as one on anyother car, except Peugeots they have the worst
handbrake in the world,.


mine holds on steep hills on 2 clicks, and its on its original hubs,

Click to expand...

I agree, I get the same 2 clicks

oldhammer said:

Theres nothing wrong with the handbrake on punto's
if you spend an hour or so setting them up properly
theyre as good as one on anyother car, except Peugeots they have the worst
handbrake in the world,.


mine holds on steep hills on 2 clicks, and its on its original hubs,

Click to expand...

Guess my punto has a curse on handbrake then

I mean all mot history handbrake issues...

But as a one rule I leave all cars in gear

Benny

if the shoes are good, and everything is adjusted correctly
id look at the cables for being stretched.

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it was that issue it cured it before and passed mot...

Guess I keep getting crappy cables...

with the handbrake on,check the bar on the adjuster,
and see if cables are pulling even,

id say near close, they do need new cylinders which im gonna do maybe tomorrow if i aint so busy
braking is all good though so least im safe for now

benny279 said:

id say near close, they do need new cylinders which im gonna do maybe tomorrow if i aint so busy
braking is all good though so least im safe for now

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whys that then

s and b said:

whys that then

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cause ive checked both n/s/r and o/s/r and one piston both sides have seized so its pushed out so in turn the whichever shoe never returns to resting pos, so you hear that lovely binding noise, ive checked the shoes though they dont seem to be entirely worn down from that if that.

Just an update on my handbrake issue , after doing all i could on the road outside the house , i took it to a freind who has a hoist . So when we got the car up , it became apparent that the cables were seized , so once new cables were fitted , handbrake was as good as new . Thanks for the help ?

Bear in mind, I did this last time put new cables on handbrake was great then months later drum was scored,shoes worn,cylinders seized ...took me a few hours to sort! So don't be shocked if handbrake fails again later on...